According to preliminary estimates by the National Institute of Statistics (INS) for July, exports amounted to €3.18 billion, 20.8 percent higher year-on-year. Imports totaled €5.07 billion, 14.2 percent higher year-on-year.
Month-on-month, exports rose 5.2 percent, while imports were constant.
Although exports have a higher dynamic compared to imports since late 2007, trade deficit keeps widening. It amounted to €12.703 billion in the first seven months of 2008, compared to €11.504 billion in January-July 2007. Thus, annual increase amounted to 10.42 percent.
Analysts are concerned that worsening economic conditions in Western Europe could have a negative impact, given some 70 percent of Romania’s commercial exchanges are made with EU countries.
